Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 3-0 Bradford City

[RobM]

3-0 win,my mate had £5 on a 3-0 so went home with an extra £165, Wet Spam concede two very late goals to lose 3-2 and have a man sent off.

Ah, football, the beautiful game!

 

[sufcwatcha1]

everyone is sooo happy tonight ... yay....





Brown Out

 

[Supernaut]

Oh, and one other observation - it appears that Mr Brown has found the dressing room again. Good stuff :thumbsup:

 

[AndyT]

Well, where do we start with that! ... Superb! :happy:

PRE-MATCH :

Fantastic and impeccably observed tribute to the fallen. Wonderful.

RATINGS :

Oxley 8.5 - Becoming a bit of an unsung hero. So quick off his line and dealt with pretty much everything and pulled off some sharp saves towards the end.

Demetriou 9 - Had a stormer for me. Got some great tackles in and bombed forward at every opportunity.

Ferdinand 8.5 - Quietly did his highly professional job at the back. Hanson was a handful but him and Thommo dealt with every threat they had.

Thompson 9 - Another superb performance. Him and Ferdy were awesome at the back.

Coker 7.5 - Hard to rate, due to the injury, but did a great job when he was on.

Leonard 8.5 - Absolutely snuffed out everything they had and a fantastic goal-line clearance at the death.

Atkinson 9.5 MOTM - Fautless. One thing summed his performance up. At 3-0, who charged back and got a superb challenge in to rob their fella and set an attack up for us? .. Yep, you've guessed it. Best I've ever seen him play.

McLaughlin 8 - Tirelessly battled away and really is so positive going forward, making some great runs with the ball.

Wordsworth 8.5 - Quality performance from a quality player.

Cox 8 - Another lovely dummy to shoot, before playing Atko in. Dropped into pockets of space all afternoon long. Hope the injury isn't too serious.

Ranger 8.5 - Started off superbly and could have had a hat-trick on another afternoon.

SUBS :

Timlin 7.5 - Did a great job in a fill-in role.

O'Neill 7 - Not on long enough to judge.

Fortune 7.5 - A lot more positive than before and created the third goal.

OVERALL :

I don't buy the "Bradford didn't play well" stuff. They did play well, but we were a lot better than them. I've often said that when we work and press up the pitch and ping the ball about, we are a really good side. We had that in abundance today.

They are a good side and we made them look ordinary.

First 25 minutes is the best I've seen under PB at RH. We were unstoppable. They've got a really good defensive record and we had them reeling, giving the ball away and completely unsettled.

Not been excited about a Southend side like this for a long time. Last season we played well, but this season there's a real belief and quality about us.

Anyone doubting PB's signings then I'll just leave you with the following : Cox, Ranger, Ferdinand, Demetriou, Oxley, Atkinson, Wordsworth, McLaughlin .. The list goes on.

Different class today.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

3-0 win,my mate had £5 on a 3-0 so went home with an extra £165, Wet Spam concede two very late goals to lose 3-2 and have a man sent off.

Ah, football, the beautiful game!

This, plus Colchester leading 1-0 after 85 minutes only to lose 2-1 and fall into the relegation places. :hilarious:

So pleased for everyone involved, but Atkinson in particular - great to see hard work pay off.

I'd put a few quid on us making the playoffs if I wasn't so terrified of jinxing it.

 

[RHB]

Although this is thread is meant to be pertinent to the match, I would like to offer up a round of applause for the Club for the way they organised and delivered the Remembrance event just before the game. The lass that sang was absolutely great and the choice of songs matched the mood. The minute's silence was immaculately observed by the entire crowd and the bugle solos added exactly the right gravitas to the moment. Well done all.

 

[AndyT]

I noted you said it was well officiated, did you not feel, especially in the first half he just blew up for anything, eveytime someone fell over, and did not let it flow?

No, not particularly! :smile:

 

[BrettieAngell]

I disagree, I wouldn't say Bradford never turned up and actually thought they were the better side in the second half, they just didn't take their chances

Agreed they were all over us before we scored the second but to our credit we defended well we had to and took our chances when they came our way. Excellent all round performance and if this team can stay fit, who knows!

 

[Benfleet A1]

Agree with the rest of the post but Oxley deserves real credit today, made some great saves. Even at the end he was off his line fast and still had to put out a strong left arm to save a certain goal. What about Lenny's excellent goal line clearance.

The thing that stood out for me today was our believe. After that confidence boosting Bury performance the lads were really on the front foot. They wanted to be on that pitch and they wanted to win. Great day to be at the Hall

Agreed about Oxley. Apart from a flap about 20 minutes in, he was bang on the money. Pulled a couple of fine saves out of the bag and growing in confidence every week. Had my doubts about him but glad to be wrong.

 

[Benfleet A1]

I disagree, I wouldn't say Bradford never turned up and actually thought they were the better side in the second half, they just didn't take their chances

Ok, not turning up was a bit strong. Lets just say I expected a tougher game against 2nd in the league. An example would be their No7, pacey but no end product.

 

[RHB]

Ok, not turning up was a bit strong. Lets just say I expected a tougher game against 2nd in the league. An example would be their No7, pacey but no end product.

He did fire off probably the high, oh so very high and wide shot in the first half that cleared the South Stand with ease. It would probably have been a world record and a gold medal if there was a category for it in the Olympics.

 

[AndyT]

Nicky Law was their best player.

There was a period in the first half where their crossing for Hanson nearly lead to a goal, but for all the possession they had at the start of the second half, we limited them to half-chances.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Oh yeah Hanson, what a ****ing donkey!!

 

[kentblues]

A very good game of football with much quality on show- much of it from us. Things are starting to look promising barring an injury crisis. The 4 ex-prem players, Ranger, Cox, Ferdinand and Fortune are all getting to full match fitness and their quality is obvious. Add to that Demetriou, Wordworth, McLaughlin to name a few others we now have a lot of players who are very comfortable on the ball. The product is not only a few results but football that at times can be a joy to watch- we should recall it's not that long ago the big complaint was hoofball..

 

[RobM]

He did fire off probably the high, oh so very high and wide shot in the first half that cleared the South Stand with ease. It would probably have been a world record and a gold medal if there was a category for it in the Olympics.

That was the funniest thing I've seen for months!

 

[Jay_SUFC]

He did fire off probably the high, oh so very high and wide shot in the first half that cleared the South Stand with ease. It would probably have been a world record and a gold medal if there was a category for it in the Olympics.

It was so bad, he should have been made to have gone to get the ball; if it was a Sunday morning he would have done :smile:

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Overall a very good game as well as a very good win. we started like a train on fire - pace, passion, pressing, passing, good decisions. that was as well as i've seen us start a game for a while. that goal was coming long before it went in and we could have had a few more, they were reeling.

as is so often the case, we are not defensive, but if we were more clinical we'd win the league. we didn't, and so despite our excellence we went in 1-0 at half time.

and then we did what Southend do, and we started the second half like we'd had ten steak and kidney pies each at half time. we sank deep, we couldn't pass, but we hung on in there. we worked hard and we saw their spell of pressure out. at that stage i would have taken 1-1 as it looked like we could of thrown it away.

Then we get a corner, ball comes to Demetriou who slings to towards the box but behind everyone. Thompson manages to get to it, controls it and pokes it forward. There The Unsung One appears again, sticks it in the goal and we go wild. That there was the game.

Overall, we played well and kept a very decent Bradford side at bay. They weren't crap and that 3-0 flattered us, but we did deserve to win.

Oxley - 8 - Commanding as well as secure. Made some very good saves and punched or caught crosses. For the first time today I heard him being compared to Bentley favourably - bloke behind me said 'Bentley never came for those, he was always stuck to his line'. A corner has well and truly been turned. Whoever is behind the improvement in him, probably lots of people, deserve serious credit.

Demetriou - 8 - got up and back well. A few times he drifts inside attacking when i'd rather he stayed wide in the space but that's a minor criticism.

Thompson - 9 - a player transformed. There was a time when I wondered what the point of him was, but he handled Hanson well alongside Ferdinand. He is a lot more aggressive in his approach to the game, not leaving his foot in but attacking the ball. Previously he was passive and was often beaten in the air, not so much now. Decent on the floor too.

Ferdinand - 8 -he also handled the Hanson challenge well and too a smack in the face for his trouble from Marshall. He passes well of both feet and leads the line, even if he runs slower than Mooney when not in proper play.

Coker - 7 - clearly struggling after the early knock. Did well but was limited in his game by that injury and went off early.

Atkinson - 9 - worked hard, obviously. Played two or three positions at once, obviously. But scored two goals - a real I Was There game.

Leonard - 9 - superb at nicking the ball, breaking up play. He is a giant in that role just in front of the defence and it is so vital.

Wordsworth - 9 - I am torn between Atkinson and Wordsworth for MOTM. Wordsworth worked so hard, made blocks and tackles, provided quality from set pieces, nearly scored from one, passed well. Superb.

McLaughlin - 9 - It's hard to believe people said this bloke was a lightweight luxury player who didn't put the shift in. He did everything today, including limiting his own game to cover for Timlin when Coker went off.

Cox - 9 - class. he worked hard, he held the ball up, he dropped in to space and kitted the play together and assisted a goal.

Ranger -9 - class. Big, strong, powerful, won headers, tricks and flicks, nearly scored. Some of his defensive work was very good too, one booming header in his own box.

Timlin - 7 - kept drafting out of position at the end of the first half, seemed to stay within his limitations in the second which was very sensible.

Fortune - 7 - came on out wide which was sensible as it gave us another body in midfield, held the ball, ran down the right and crossed which gave us the own goal - i'm sure Ranger would of scored if the defender hadn't intervened. Did the job he does so well.

A very good day out

 

[RHB]

A little extract from the Bradford board. I'm really only posting it because of the Fortune comment, absolutely classic!!

This aside, we had a bad day at the office. We were dragged all over the place in defence by the powerful Ranger. Our back two panicked at times, when ran at by their tall physical midfield. No let up when Fortune came on for them. Akifenwa with pace !!! Likewise their big defenders nullified Jim and Jordy easily

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

everyone is sooo happy tonight ... yay....





Brown Out

Are u kidding? Mrsblue is devastated

 

[Harry Bullocks]

Brown in , end of